Is there a way to tell clone from real (current) minifigures?

jdylak

I came home from work tonight and my wife said she grabbed me a Hulk tan pants figure on ebay since she knws I have been complaining about wanting one. She said it just got posted like seconds before that. I asked how much and she said $10 shipped. I hadn't recalled seeing a big Hulk in the clone lot being sold on ebay from the Hong Kong sellers. This seller is from here in the Idaho I believe. I looked at his auctions past and present and he has sold a lot of them, along with other currents like Falcon and whoever the big head guy is in the current Super Heroes set. I just worry it is a clone version. Thing is is there a way to tell? Do any of the pieces to the figure say "Lego" on the legit ones?

CCC

If they are anything like the minifigs, then you can tell by looking at the quality of plastic and print, and looking for the Lego logo.

Also look at the description. Does he state it is Lego?

logicstorm

The real Hulk tan pants should have (c) 2011 The LEGO Group on the bottom of his right foot.

Steve_J_OM

These have really proliferated in the last year or so, and it has made the search for minifigures (Superheroes, mainly) on eBay an utter pain in the ass.

As @CCC suggests, take a look at the listing. It will (hopefully) state in the description whether or not it is genuine.

jdylak

Yea, the listing stated "Lego Hulk". I myself won't buy new figs on ebay but my wife was trying to help me out.

CCC

As he has called it lego, then it should be lego. If it isn't genuine, then contact him for a refund and report him for selling fakes.

Xefan

^ I like your no prisoners approach :)

More people should do this, I'm sick of seeing fakes peddled as the real thing on eBay too with plenty of muppets giving them a four star rating and saying "Wasn't genuine Lego after all but still good service" - like what the hell? You're happy you just got screwed because you could've bought a fake for half the price from someone honestly admitting they're peddling fakes if that's what you would've been happy with to start with?

I'm surprised there hasn't been a clamp down on these things anyway though, IIRC eBay made a massive fuss and clamp down on fake designer goods a couple of years back, and I thought Marvel etc. weren't exactly shy about threatening litigation if need be, presumably these fakes aren't licensed and supported by Marvel et. al and breach their IP rights?

Shib

i can't help but think that a lot of the people selling these are just as likely to be the same people who were previously selling fake designer handbags, ebay stops one thing so they move onto the next.

sadowsk1

I can't tell the difference.

jediami65

It's not just the quality of the plastic, lead and other things in the paint etc is a huge reason why I won't touch any of that..There is no control and my kids are toooo important to me to save a dollar or two.

brickupdate

I only just became aware of this - and agree with what someone else said here - it seems to be driven by the Super Hero minifigs. I have bought some on eBay recently, but try to get sealed polybags for figs that came that way (Lex, Iron Patriot, etc), and when possible, go through Bricklink instead.

Looking at eBay listings is scary - from just the pictures, many knockoffs look really good.

Jezzatheshed

I bought one at a toy fair just for comparison reason, the giveaway is the legs which join to the body with a different fixing. There are no lego copyrights on the parts and the plastic feels slightly lighter.Other than that the printing is first class and it is hard to tell the difference. I would say that the manufacturer makes no attempt to advertise as lego on the packaging.
What I found more disturbing is that another afol told me he'd mixed parts of one with genuine lego parts to create a "black superman" which I'm told is rare.

TheBigGuy

Xefan said:

^ I like your no prisoners approach :)

I agree completely. I don't buy off E-Bay but I use Trade Me, which a New Zealand auction site that is similar. We have many of that type who sell fakes, especially minifigures. And not just Super Heroes, I noticed Star Wars and LoTR as well recently. The sellers are very clever, using what I call "weasel-phrases" like "Lego-type" or "Lego Compatible", when it is nothing more than clone brand or fake rubbish.

Drmnez

Scary! I did see the up tick in SH on eBay. I use to buy some on there when SH was new, however, I won't buy on eBay unless I bought from previously or, and this is the big one, the item is sealed.

Drmnez

There are like 5 sellers that sell some pretty legit looking mf from all themes. The mark them as custom if I recall correctly

madforLEGO

Most of the counterfeit figures, smaller regular minfigs, have round 'toes' as opposed to the LEGO figs, but I'm starting to think that those are now changing to become squared off as well, but not sure.

oceanangel

There's an Ashens video where he reviews them which is worth watching. They are frustrating as so many people are selling them and I've noticed uk people are selling them and not stating they are fakes

CCC

Read the description. If they look the same or similar to lego's figures and they say custom, or compatible, then they are fake. If they sell something as lego, then inform the seller that you know they are selling fakes, demand a refund, and leave negative feedback.

The problem is not so much the first seller selling these as most sellers do indicate, albeit subtly sometimes, that they are fakes. It is when the buyer sells them on later in a job lot of lego, calling them lego.

Shib

^ I see so many ebay auctions with job lots of "Lego" mini figures that contain characters that haven't ever been release (or were comic con exclusives) without a hint of the subtle not really Lego that it makes you wonder if some people don't get the idea of a brand, have been easily fooled themselves or are trying to pull a fast one

andhe

^I think a lot of people use the term 'lego' to mean any brand of plastic building bricks. It's kind of become the 'pritt stick' (glue stick) or 'hoover' (vacuum cleaner) of the toy world (apologies if those are UK centric).

I've given up looking for (actual) lego figures on ebay now as most searches bring up pages and pages of 'lego compatible/custom' figures.

Back to the question in hand, I have seen fake large hulks for sale which I was suprised about. But I guess it was inevitable. The ways of checking will be in the manufacturing quality (eg do the pieces fit together as they should, do parts move/remove as they should, are there any rough edges etc) and theoretically it shouldn't have 'lego' or a part number written on it's foot, but who knows.

If it is a fake and hasn't been sold as such. Report them and ask for a refund.